Blissful Ignorance and Stark Reality
by HeavensPuppet
Summary: Tema/Shika/Ino. Well, really it's just Temari with ShikaxIno in the background. What do you do when you don't want to know the truth? How long can you deny it? When it's right in front of you, where can you hide?


Pairings: TemxShikaxIno

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters etc. I also don't own the poem. It's called Unfortunate Coincidence by Dorothy Parker.

(A/N: I normally despise Temari being anywhere near Shika, but this just popped into my head when I read the poem. It seemed to fit. Poor Temari, even when I give her Shika there's strings attached!)

**Blissful Ignorance and Stark Reality**

She didn't want to admit it. She tried to ignore it, all of it. Determined to convince herself she was imagining things. Temari sighed to herself as she wandered around the local bookstore, unsure how much longer she could keep up the pretence. She told herself her husband was so lazy he'd fallen asleep at work again, that's why he was late home at night. He was one of the greatest strategic minds of their age, obviously that meant he'd have to travel to Konoha a lot. Temari had been able to keep herself in a state of blissful deliberate ignorance for a long time. He always came back, he always returned from his missions and spent time with her.

Then, as part of their alliance with Suna, Konoha had sent some of their shinobi to help with Suna's protection. Gaara had accepted gladly, secretly delighted to be able to see more of the bizarre blonde ball of friendship. Temari had agreed with her brother's decision. She felt it showed the strength of their alliance. She was happy, that is, until the team arrived. Friends from Konoha and Suna mingled together laughing and joking. They planned missions together, they enacted rescues together. They did everything together.

And it was killing Temari.

Every time she saw them they were together. Soon she couldn't ignore it anymore. The way he looked at her, the way he gently brushed something off her cheek, the panic he went through when he thought she'd been captured or killed. However, some desperate part of her still clung to the vague hope that she was just imagining things.

A couple of months after the Konoha shinobi had arrived, Temari was scouring the town for her wayward husband so she could give him a message. Annoyed and tired, she decided to take a shortcut home through a side street. She was about to turn onto it when she heard the giggle. She snuck a peek around the corner, not wanting to interrupt some young lovers. And there it was, her husband with his arms wrapped around another woman. Slim arms slid around his neck as they continued kissing, unaware that anyone was watching them. They pulled apart and he brushed blonde hair off his partner's face as he gazed softly at her. Temari tried to shut her ears to the muttering, to the whispers of _I love you, I'll never leave you_. She heard the other woman mutter the word troublesome and her husband laugh. There was a sigh as he rested his forehead against hers, both content to be where they were for however long they had.

Temari had turned and fled silently into the night, towards the home she shared with a man she'd never really known, no longer able to hide. And now here she was, wandering around a bookstore, unwilling to go home where her husband was waiting to talk to her. She pulled a book of poetry off the shelf in front of her and flipped through it, stopping at a random page. One of the verses caught her eye.

_By the time you swear you're his,_

_Shivering and sighing,_

_And he vows his passion is_

_Infinite, undying - _

_Lady, make a note of this:_

_One of you is lying._

She smiled sadly to herself. If she was honest with herself, he'd never once shown that kind of passion for her. They did care about each other, and she liked to think she did love him, but he'd never talked to her the way he sounded when he talked to _her_. She'd heard it in his voice when he'd said he loved _her_, and when he'd laughed because of _her_. She knew in her heart he'd never love her like she wanted him to. So, with a slightly stronger smile, she bought the poetry book and walked out of the shop.

--

ShikaIno forever!! Cough…anyway, please leave me a review! (And please don't flame if you're a ShikaTema fan and you're mad that I didn't leave them together!)


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